348 ackley

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Macm2020+
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348 ackley

Post by Macm2020+ »

Does any one know of any gunsmiths doing 348 Ackley improved chambers? I had thought about the Alaskan conversion for the Browning 71 but now thinking that is too much work....that might be a good one for a Siamese Mauser. Any thoughts....and No I am not going to butcher the Winchester 71.
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GunnyMack
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by GunnyMack »

Try Trinidad State Junior College gunsmith school, I graduated from there in '93 and we had every chamber reamer under the sun. Including 600 Nitro!!
You could even sign up for a 2 week summer class and do the work yourself there. Or you could possibly just send the gun and have the chamber done. I doubt the reamer rental companies will have the 348 AI .
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
Macm2020+
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Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:56 pm

Re: 348 ackley

Post by Macm2020+ »

/gunnymack, the 2 weeks summer program at Trinidad is a good idea. I am retiring this summer!
Thanks
hfcable
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by hfcable »

Macm2020+ wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:41 pm Does any one know of any gunsmiths doing 348 Ackley improved chambers? I had thought about the Alaskan conversion for the Browning 71 but now thinking that is too much work....that might be a good one for a Siamese Mauser. Any thoughts....and No I am not going to butcher the Winchester 71.
here is a rental 348 AI :

https://4drentals.com/products/reamer-r ... rifle/348/
cable
Leverluver
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by Leverluver »

Be careful which one you get; there are at least three versions of 348 Improved. The Ackley is a short neck with minimal (dang near none) case taper. I've seen long neck (same as the original case but blown out body), short neck with at least two different degrees of case taper. I would get drawings of both the reamer and the case reloading dies before I committed to doing it. I have the original AI design ( and RCBS dies) and it is a stomper...on both ends. With the non-tapered case it does not feed as well as the original; it feeds OK but not as well. You can certainly feel the hitch in the feeding as the fat forward part of the case tries to get into the chamber. With the short neck, it limits you choice of cast bullets that won't be sticking down into the powder space. The Browning has essentially no throat which in the original form can cause issues although you gain some benefit in the AI case, when fire formed, will come out shorter than the original case by at least 1/10" so that gives you a pseudo increase in throat. When I was young and enjoyed stalking elk in the timber I wish I had that gun. Now that I am an old fanny burp and shoot mostly cast (which the original does fine), I wish I hadn't converted it. But I do have an original first year deluxe and another Browning short rifle so it's not like I am crying or anything. :wink:
Macm2020+
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by Macm2020+ »

Leverluver
Good info on the feeding. It seems like there are many variations for any chambering. Any thoughts on just improving the the 348 chamber just a little, I mean do not blow it out to the point it does not chamber well, or is that just defeating the purpose. I think the "fully improved 375 and 450 Alaskan may be best for the Siamese mauser that feeds rimmed cartridges.
Thanks again.
Leverluver
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by Leverluver »

If you do it, no matter in which rifle, have the reamer rental or manufacturer send the print and measurements so you can send that to the die company of your choice and confirm that the reamer and their dies will work together. Early on, there was only the AI and I still think that if you order 348AI dies from RCBS you will receive the proper dies for the original Ackley version, or at least I did. If they have added other variations, I am not aware it. Later I started seeing pictures of others in publications (mostly Wolfe ) that were showing other iterations that were certainly NOT AI but some other form that they were calling AI or maybe just improved, I don't remember. That is where I saw the long neck (same length as the parent case) version. Except for the problem of finding dies (not counting custom), I though the design had merit. There was still plenty of neck for cast but had a large increase in powder capacity; not as much as the AI but plenty enough to get some awesome velocities. It may even have fed better, I don't know.

If you improve "a little" you will certainly have issues with dies unless you are ready to pay the price for custom. Yes, less taper; more of an "Alaskan" look would feed better but with the decreased case capacity due to the reduced taper, I'm not sure that the smaller velocity gain would have been worth the bother. It would not have for me anyway. At that time, I was mesmerized by the magnum velocities in my favorite lever gun and would not have gone forward without those numbers.

You will see the standard AI claim that the straight wall improves case life and compared to the original taper that may be the case but I had so many cases that I never got close to case failure on either standard or AI. Logic would say that the AI would last longer but I can't confirm.

I remember that I got the AI up to 2500fps+ with a 250 bullet, 2700+ with the 200 although I never was really interested in the 200 or lighter. This was supposed to be a dedicated elk gun. I was getting too old for timber hunting and, to tell the truth, that 250 was a vicious load. At the same time I had a Sako Finnbear in 338 Win Mag and that M71 would pound me way more than the Sako. So be careful what you wish for :shock:

You mention 450 Alaskan. Be careful as that has several tapers as well. The original Alaskan has more taper than the 450-348 AI that is often confused with the Alaskan.

Good luck and have fun
Macm2020+
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Re: 348 ackley

Post by Macm2020+ »

I just was looking up the "little Improved case...it seems that someone has already figured it out. The 450 Fuller or Fulton??? put some taper back into the AI and it improved the feeding in the leverguns. It would not make any difference in the Siamese Mauser. Of course now I am chasing ideas and thinking 40/348 vs 416/348....improved of course.
Thanks for lots of info
Mike
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